[Elecraft] OT: Crimping small wires

[Walter Underwood]

I agree. The point of a good crimper is to get a controlled force on the joint to create a reliable mechanical-electrical joint. Putting something springy in there, like insulation, is asking for trouble.

wunder
K6WRU

On Dec 11, 2013, at 3:48 PM, bill conkling <nr4c at widomaker.com> wrote:

> Crimping the wire over the insulation doesn't seem too good to me.
> 
> I have used a dab of hot melt glue to stabilize the wire at the rear of the PP Plastic.
> 
> ...bill nr4c
> 
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
> 
> EricJ <eric_csuf at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I don't usually do that because the wire exiting the APP barrel is still 
>> just a small strand that flexes easily and can eventually break. It 
>> gives you a lot more surface area for crimping, but needs strain relief 
>> to be secure in the long run.
>> 
>> What I do is strip the wire the same length as normal, then fold it back 
>> over the insulation. I insert the wire and insulation into the barrel 
>> with the wire down (away from the split in the barrel), then crimp 
>> normally. This makes a solid electrical connection with the stiffness of 
>> the wire insulation which also provides more than adequate strain relief.
>> 
>> I've mentioned it here before and some are aghast, but I have maybe a 
>> dozen connections like that currently in my shack and not one of them 
>> has ever failed in the 10 years I've been doing it with APPs. But any 
>> connection where this is necessary is a low voltage, low current DC 
>> connection so what's it going to hurt? It isn't any worse electrically 
>> than using a small wire nut which is considered safe enough even for 
>> house wiring.
>> 
>> Eric
>> KE6US
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 12/11/2013 9:41 AM, Edward R Cole wrote:
>>> A little off topic:
>>> 
>>> I wonder if any of you do what I do when using wires are too small for 
>>> crimp connectors?  I strip twice as much insulation from the end of 
>>> the wire and then fold the bare wire over double.  May have to squeeze 
>>> using small nose pliers to get it doubled tight enough to fit inside 
>>> the crimp connector.  The crimps hold the undersized wire very well 
>>> with this procedure.
>>> 
>>> BTW this works for solid conductor wire, like hookup wire.  Bend the 
>>> conductor double and there is something for the crimp to hold.
>>> 
>>> I do not know if this will work with powerpole connectors.  My problem 
>>> was having too large diameter wire for the powerpole connectors which 
>>> inhibited proper crimping; solution chose proper size connector for 
>>> the wire size selected.
>>> 
>>> 73, Ed - KL7UW
>>> 
>>> ---------------------
>>> Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2013 09:00:11 -0500
>>> From: Don Wilhelm <w3fpr at embarqmail.com>
>>> To: "Charlie T, K3ICH" <pincon at erols.com>, elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Powerpole Replacement
>>> Message-ID: <52A86FEB.2070902 at embarqmail.com>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>>> 
>>> Charlie,
>>> 
>>> The PowerWerx crimper is good.  Just be certain to fill the cavity with
>>> wire - for instance the 30 amp connectors are sized for #12 wire - if
>>> the wire is smaller, it may be loose, so in addition to filling the
>>> barrel with as many wire strands as I can, I add some solder for extra
>>> security.
>>> 
>>> 73,
>>> Don W3FPR
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 73, Ed - KL7UW
>>> http://www.kl7uw.com
>>> dubususa at gmail.com
>>> "Kits made by KL7UW"
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>> 
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--
Walter Underwood
wunder at wunderwood.org